Who Is Senator Bob Corker, Net Worth, Spouse, Personal And Political Life

Bob Corker is a U.S businessman and politician. He is a member of the Republican Party and has been serving as a junior U.S Senator from Tennessee since 2007. In addition to that, he’s the chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations.

The politician was once the Mayor of Chattanooga and Tennessee’s Commissioner of Finance and Administration. Let’s learn more about this U.S senator, shall we?

Who Is Senator Bob Corker?

He was born Robert Phillips Corker Jr. on the 24th of August 1952, to Jean J and Robert Phillips Corker Sr. His great-great-grandfather, Stephen A. Corker, was a one time U.S. Congressman. Bob spent the first ten years of his life in Orangeburg, South Carolina, where he was born. At the age of 11, his family moved to Tennessee where they have remained till date.

Bob Corker’s high school education was at Chattanooga High School, Hamilton County, Tennessee, where he graduated from in 1970. After high school, he bagged a degree in Industrial Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

His Personal and Political Life

As a young man in his early twenties, Bob Corker traveled to Haiti with a group on a mission trip and according to him, that trip inspired him to get actively involved in community development services in his hometown. After his trip to Haiti, he came back to help found a nonprofit organization named the Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise in 1986. Since its inception till date, the NGO has helped provide low-interest home loans to individuals as well as home maintenance education to thousands of Tennesseans.

In 1994, he contested for the U.S. Senate election in Tennessee but lost to Bill Frist in the Republican primary. Governor Don Sundquist would later appoint him as the State’s Commissioner of Finance and Administration; a position he held from 1995 to 1996. Between 2001 and 2005, he served as the Mayor of Chattanooga.

As the Mayor of Chattanooga, Bob Corker put in place a merit-based bonus system for teachers. The scheme became effective in 2002 and awarded bonuses to teachers and principals from Chattanooga lowest-performing schools for improving student performances. It recorded huge success 2 years after its implementation as a study showed among other things, that the percentage of third graders in the state dropped significantly.

During his tenure as Mayor, Corker also initiated another program called ChattanoogaRESULTS. The program was all about meeting with the public service department administrators every month so as to evaluate their performances, as well as set new goals for further improvements.

Like the merit-based bonus scheme, ChattanoogaRESULTS was also a huge success. A city data indicated a 26% decrease in crime and a 50% reduction in violent crimes between 2001 and 2004 and this was credited to the program. After his reign as Mayor, his successor, Ron Littlefield continued with the program. Corker was also the brain behind the Enterprise South Industrial Park in Chattanooga. Before his tenure as Mayor ended, he oversaw the riverfront renovation project which cost $120 million, the renovation of the Creative Discovery Museum, and lots more.

When he was done with being the Mayor of Chattanooga, Corker announced he would be contesting for the U.S. Senate election in the state. He went on to defeat Harold Ford Jr. (Democratic Representative) in the general election and became the first non-incumbent Republican to be elected to the U.S. Senate in the 110th Congress.

In 2012, he sought for reelection and was re-elected. He won the election by 65% votes defeating Democrat Mark E. Clayton who garnered 30% of the votes. In 2017, he announced that he will not be seeking re-election.

Net Worth

Although there are conflicting figures as to how much the Senator is worth, one thing these figures have in common is that they all agree that Bob Corker net worth is more than $40 million. While some estimates his net worth at $40 million, others put it at $45 million and even higher. Thus, Bob is arguably one of the richest U.S senators.

His earnings are majorly from his chains of businesses scattered all over the country as well as his earnings as a senator.

Who Is Bob Corker’s Spouse?

This Corker has been married to Elizabeth Corker since 1987 and they have two adorable daughters (Emily and Julia) together. The family lives at the Anne Haven Mansion built by Anne Lupton and Frank Harrison (Coca-Cola Bottling Company heirs).